Reuse of shared metadata across applications via URL protocol

Abstract

Techniques for facilitating the sharing of metadata. In one set of embodiments, a metadata document is referenced by a plurality of software applications as a URL, the URL comprising a protocol component identifying a specialized protocol name and a path component identifying a name and namespace of the metadata document. The specialized protocol name indicates that the metadata document is a shared document stored in a shared metadata repository. When an application in the plurality of software applications needs to access the metadata document, the URL is passed to a URL resolver configured to identify the shared metadata repository based on configuration information associated with the application. The metadata document is then retrieved from the shared metadata repository. Since many existing application framework components and standards are adapted to reference metadata documents as URLs, embodiments of the present invention facilitate metadata reuse with minimal or no code changes to the applications or their underlying framework.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for facilitating the sharing of a metadata document by a plurality of software applications, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a software application of the plurality of software applications, a uniform resource locator (URL) for the metadata document, the URL including a protocol component identifying a specialized protocol name and a path component identifying a name and namespace of the metadata document, the specialized protocol name indicating that the metadata document is stored in a shared metadata repository; 
 wherein the specialized protocol name is a non-standard protocol name that is not one of HTTP, HTTPS, FILE, or FTP; and 
 identifying the shared metadata repository based on the specialized protocol name; 
 identifying the metadata document further based on configuration information associated with the software application. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  further comprising retrieving the metadata document from the shared metadata repository. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the configuration information includes version information indicating a specific version of the metadata document used by the software application, and wherein retrieving the metadata document comprises retrieving the specific version. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the configuration information includes customization information indicating a specific customized variant used by the metadata document for the software application, and wherein retrieving the metadata document comprises retrieving the specific customized variant. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the shared metadata repository is further based on the namespace of the metadata document. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the steps of receiving the URL and identifying the shared metadata repository are performed by a URL resolver configured to interoperate with a standard URL technology component, the standard URL technology component processes URLs on behalf of the plurality of software applications. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of applications include Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications, and wherein the standard URL technology component is a standard Java URL class. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the URL resolver is a custom Java class that extends the standard Java URL class. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the steps of receiving the URL and identifying the shared metadata repository are performed while the application is running in a deployed environment. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the shared metadata repository is a database repository. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the steps of receiving the URL and identifying the shared metadata repository are performed while the software application is running in a development environment. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the shared metadata repository is a file-based repository. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata document is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining a domain name of the shared metadata repository; and 
 transforming the URL into a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) URL based on the domain name, wherein the HTTP URL may be used to retrieve the metadata document via HTTP protocol. 
 
     
     
       15. A system for facilitating the sharing of a metadata document by a plurality of software applications, the system comprising:
 a memory storing configuration information associated with the plurality of software applications; 
 a processor coupled to the memory configured to:
 receive, from a software application in the plurality of software applications, a uniform resource locator (URL) for the metadata document, the URL including a protocol component identifying a specialized protocol name and a path component identifying a name and namespace of the metadata document, the specialized protocol name indicating that the metadata document is stored in a shared metadata repository; and 
 wherein the specialized protocol name is a non-standard protocol name that is not one of HTTP, HTTPS, FILE, or FTP; and 
 identify the shared metadata repository based on the specialized protocol name; and 
 
 identify the metadata document based on configuration information associated with the software application. 
 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to retrieve the metadata document from the shared metadata repository. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 15 , wherein identifying the shared metadata repository is further based on the namespace of the metadata document. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 determine a domain name of the shared metadata repository; and 
 transform the URL into a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) URL based on the domain name, wherein the HTTP URL may be used to retrieve the metadata document via HTTP protocol. 
 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing a series of instructions which, when executed by a processing component, cause the processing component to:
 receive, from a software application in a plurality of software applications, a uniform resource locator (URL) for a metadata document, the URL including a protocol component identifying a specialized protocol name and a path component identifying a name and namespace of the metadata document, the specialized protocol name indicating that the metadata document is stored in a shared metadata repository; and 
 wherein the specialized protocol name is a non-standard protocol name that is not one of HTTP, HTTPS, FILE, or FTP; and 
 identify the shared metadata repository based on the specialized protocol name; and 
 identify the metadata document based on configuration information associated with the software application. 
 
     
     
       20. The machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the series of instructions further cause the processing component to retrieve the metadata document from the shared metadata repository. 
     
     
       21. The machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein identifying the shared metadata repository is further based on the namespace of the metadata document. 
     
     
       22. The machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the series of instructions further cause the processing component to:
 determine a domain name of the shared metadata repository; and 
 transform the URL into a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) URL based on the domain name, wherein the HTTP URL may be used to retrieve the metadata document via HTTP protocol.